Button feeder and sorter



July 23, 1963 p. A. YOUNG, JR 3,098,584

BUTTON FEEDER AND SORTER Filed Sept. 28. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 44 E Q Q 6 IN VEN TOR.

DARCY ANDREWS YOUNG, JR.

FIG. 6 FIG. 7 By July 23, 1963 Filed Sept. 28, 1960 D. A. YOUNG, JR

BUTTON FEEDER AND SORTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 V m) 80 I'V 87 FIG. 4

INVENTOR.

DARCY ANDREWS YOUNG, JR.

United States Patent 3,0?3,534 BUTTGN FEEDER AND EiQRTER Darcy Andrews Young, .ha, Rochester, N.Y., assignor to Rochester Button Company, Rochester, N311, a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 28, 1960, Ser. No. 59,055 6 Claims. {CL 22l12) The present invention relates to orienters, and in one aspect to orienters for orienting buttons that are to be fed to a sewing machine. More particularly, the invention relates to a hopper type device into which buttons may be dumped or delivered and from which the buttons will be individually discharged into a chute in properly oriented positioned for delivery to and chucking on a sewing machine.

Hopper-type orienters are known that will sort buttons and deliver them in properly oriented position into a chute from which they may be transferred successively to the button-holding chuck of a sewing machine. In orienters of this type, as previously built, however, the orienter continues functioning, once started, unless the drive motor is shut off. If the operator goes away from her machine and leaves the orienter running, therefore, the buttons will pile up in the chute back to the orienter, and ultimately may jam the orienter, causing breakage of the buttons, or damage to the orienter or chute.

One object of the invention is to provide an orienter of the character described having means for automatically stopping feed of the buttons to the chute should the chute become full of buttons.

Another object of the invention is to provide an orienter of the character described which will be simpler in construction, and easier to maintain in order, than previously-known orienters of this type, but which nevertheless will orient objects rapidly with complete accuracy.

Another object of the invention is to provide an orienter of the character described which can be changed quickly to take objects of d-iiierent size or shape.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and from the recital of the appended claims particularly when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an axial sectional view of an orienter built according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2. is a plan view of this orienter;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary part side elevational, part sectional view on. an enlarged scale, taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a section, also on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 44 of FIG. 2, loo-king in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a section, also on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view of one type of button adapted to be handled by the orienter illustrated; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view of this button.

In the following description reference will be made particularly .to the orienting and feeding of buttons. It will readily be seen, however, that orienters made according to this invention may be used for orienting other objects as well as buttons; for instance, cupped washers, lock washers, rivets, etc.

The orienter shown comprises a rotary loading disc that is tilted with reference to the horizontal and that revolves inside a fixed cylinder or drum at the bottom of the cylinder or drum. The disc and drum together form a hopper adapted to hold the buttons or other objects "ice which are to be oriented. These objects may be dumped into the hopper or continuously fed therein.

The rotary disc has a plate secured to its upper face which is provided at its periphery with a plurality of pockets spaced equiangularly about the axis of the disc, each of which is adapted to hold a button, or other object, and each of which opens at the periphery of the disc. Secured in the disc in registry with each pocket is a headed pin, whose head extends into the pocket and is shaped so that one side of the but-ton, or other object, which is to be oriented, will nest thereon. In the embodiment of the invention shown, the heads of the pins are spherical to fit a spherical concavity in one side of the particular buttons which are to be oriented.

Due to the tilt of the disc the buttons tend to gravitate toward the lower side of the hopper; and as the disc revolves, individual buttons are picked up by the pockets out of the mass of buttons in the lower portion of the hopper and are carried upwardly and then downwardly again. As (the but-tons are carried upwardly those buttons, which are right side up, nest in the pockets on the pins associated with the pockets, while those buttons, which are wrong side up, do not nest properly on the pins and will tend to slide out of the pockets by the action of gravity. A sweep or brush is also provided on the drum to sweep these wrong-side-up buttons out of the pockets as the pockets rotate under the sweep or brush. The wrong-rside-up buttons will project above the pockets far enough to be engaged by the sweep or brush; whereas the right-s-ide-up buttons, which are nested down in the pockets, will pass under the brush or sweep without contacting the same. The sweep is adjustable toward and from the disc for different thicknesses of buttons to be oriented.

As the pockets move downwardly, the properly oriented buttons will pass through a slot in a compartment extending arcuately about the drum, and will be carried outwardly by a leaf spring, gravity and centrifugal force so that they are discharged into a passageway mounted tangentially of the drum. The passageway communicates with a. chute magazine that conveys the buttons to the sewing machine or to a transfer mechanism which carries the buttons individually successively into the gripping jaws of the button-holding chuck of the sewing machine.

The slot connecting the discharge compartment with the passageway is closed by a gate. There are on the bot-tom of the disc a series of angularly-spaced cams, each of which opens the gate against the resistance of a spring during part of each revolution of the disc. Each cam holds the gate open during the passage of several button pockets through the discharge compartment, so that during operation of each cam several buttons may be discharged into the passageway.

A feeler finger is secured to the gate to move therewith. If the chute-magazine is not filled with buttons and the passageway is free, the cams will open the gate intermittently as the disc rotates, but if the chute-magazine fills up, because, for instance, the sewing machine, to which the buttons are to be fed, is not in operation, and therefore, buttons are not being taken from the chutemagazine, ultimately there will be a button disposed in the passageway; and the feeler finger will engage this button, preventing the gate from opening under action of the cams. Thus, when the buttons have filled the chutemagazine far enough for the buttons to back up in the passageway, the gate will positively be prevented from opening; and no more buttons will be fed into the chutemagazine despite the continued rotation of the disc.

The downward tilt of the disc in the rotation of the disc will tend to agitate the buttons in the hopper to keep them dropping into the pockets of the disc. However, we preferably secure an agitator or slinger on top of the disc to augment the agitating action, and in addition mount projections on the disc between series of pockets to keep the buttons stirred up as the disc rotates so that they can readily be picked up by the pockets.

Referring now to the drawings by numerals of reference, 1t? denotes a bracket or post which may be secured to a table or stand, and on which the hopper assembly of the orienter is mounted. The upper face of this bracke-t is inclined, as shown in FIG. 1, at an angle of about 45 to the horizontal to secure the desired downward inclination of the loading disc. Secured to the bracket is the hub 11 of a generally cup-sh=aped support 12. Welded or otherwise secured to the hub 11 at the bottom thereof is a plate 14, from which there is suspended by means of the posts 15 a conventional geared drive motor 16. The posts 15 may be integral with or fastened to the plate 14.

The output shaft 18 of this drive is coupled by a conventional coupling 19 to a shaft 20 which is journaled in antifriction bearings 21 and 22 in the hub 11. The shaft 20 is formed at its upper end with a head 24 with which the four arms 25 of a cruciform agitator 25 are integral.

Mounted on the shaft 21 below the head 24 is the loading disc 27. This may be secured to the shaft by a pressed fit, or in any other suitable manner, to rotate with the shaft.

The disc 27 has a thin plate 23 secured on its upper face beneath head 24 by screws 29. This plate extends to the periphery of the disc and has a plurality of equiangularly spaced recesses 30 formed in it which open onto the periphery of the plate. These recesses, with the disc 27, form pockets for holding buttons. The sides of the recesses flare outwardly from one another toward the periphery of the plate so as to permit buttons readily to slide out of the recesses 30 as the recesses pass through the discharge chamber of the hopper, thereby permitting the buttons to be discharged from the hopper.

Secured in the disc 27 in registry with a number of the recesses 30 are headed pins 31. The disc 27 is intended to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2; and in the embodiment of the invention shown, there is secured in every fifth recess 30 a plate 33 which has an upturned portion 34 along its leading edge that acts as a pusher or deflector to help keep the buttons stirred up in the hopper so that they can more easily be picked up by recesses 30. The plates 33 are secured to the disc 27 by screws 35.

The disc 27 is positioned to rotate in a fixed, non rotating'cylinder or drum 46 which is secured by screws (not shown) or other suitable means to the rim 42 of the support 12. The peripheries of the disc 27 and of the plate 28 are close to, but have a slight clearance, with reference to the drum. The cylinder, or drum, and the clisc 27 together constitute the button holding hopper.

A typical button B, such as may be handled by the orienter, is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. One face of this button B has a spherical concavity 45 centrally disposed therein; and the other face of the button has a straightsided cylindrical recess 46 therein. The button is shown inverted in FIG. 6. 44 are the holes for the thread by which the button is sewed to a garment.

The nest pins 31 for this particular shaped button have heads 47 which are approximately spherical and which approximately match the concavities 45 in the tops of the buttons. Thus, a button, when properly oriented, may nest on the head 47 of a nest pin 31.

Mounted within the drum 40 at one side thereof to overlie the plate 28 and to be close thereto is a .sweep or brushotf member 55. As the buttons are carried around on the nesting pins 31, they pass under the sweep or brush-off member 55. Any buttons, which are not properly oriented and which therefore do not properly nest on the heads 47 of the pins 31, either slide off the heads of the pins, or are brushed off as they pass under the brush-off member 55. This member is threaded at its upper end and is threadably adjustable in the head 57 of a shaft 58 which is journaled in a bracket 59 that is fastened by screws or other suitable means on the outside of the drum 40. A light coil spring 61), which is connected at one end to the head 57 and at its opposite end to the bracket 59', permits the sweep 55 to be deflected as a button B passes under it. The sweep 55 has a knurled head 62 by means of which it may be adjusted toward or from the plate 28 for buttons of different thicknesses.

After they have passed under the sweep 55, the properly oriented buttons will be carried by the pockets 30 into an arcuate discharge chamber 67. This chamber is formed by an arcuate angle plate 65 which is secured to the inside wall of the drum 4%. There is a nylon leaf spring 68 secured at one end to the inside wall 69 of the angle plate 65. This spring acts as a deflector to push the buttons, which are carried into the discharge chamber, from the pockets 3%] out the slot 75 in the drum 40, which constitutes the discharge port of the chamber.

The buttons pass from discharge chamber 67 through the port 75 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4) into a guide passage 74 (FIG. 5) which is formed in a plate 72 and which communicates at one end with discharge slot or port 75 and at its opposite end with a chute-magazine 70. The chutemagazine is tubular and, like passage 74, is of generally rectangular shape in cross-section and of a size to receive and guide the buttons without permitting them to turn over. The plate 72 is fastened on top of a plate 79 that is fastened, in turn, on top of an angle bracket 78 which is secured to the support 12.

Journaled on cars 76 formed integral with a bracket 73 (FIG. 2) that is fastened to the underface of plate 79 is a shaft 77. Mounted on this shaft to rotate therewith is a gate 80 having an arcuate surface 81 at its free end which fits closely to the drum 40 to close the port 75 when the gate is in operative position. This gate 86 is secured to the shaft 77 by the forked arms 82 which are integral with the gate, and which may be fastened to the shaft by setscrews or in any other suitable manner. A coil spring 84, which bears at one end against the bracket '73 and which is secured at its other end to a collar 85, that is fastened to the shaft 77 by a set-screw or other suitable means, serves constantly to urge the gate 80 to closed position.

Fastened to the bottom of the disc 27 to project therebelow are a plurality of angularly-spaced, arcuate cams 87. A roller 88 (FIGS. 2 and 3), which is rotatably mounted by means of a pin 89 on an arm 90, is adapted to ride alternately on these cams and on the bottom of the disc 27 in the spaces between successive cams as the disc 27 revolves. The arm 90 is fastened to a shaft 91 that is journaled on the underside of bracket 78 as by means of cars integral with or secured to the underside of this bracket. One of these cars is shown in dotted lines at 86 in FIG. 2. This shaft 91, which extends parallel to shaft 77, has another arm 92 fastened to it, which has a pin 94 secured therein at its free end that carries a roller 93. The roller 93 is adapted to engage the underface of an arm 95 that is rotatably mounted on the shaft 77. A coil spring 97, which engages at one end in the arm 95 and at its opposite end in a collar 96 that is fastened to the shaft 77, serves constantly to urge the arm 95 into engagement with the roller 93. When the roller 88 is traveling on the bottom of the disc in the spaces between the cams 87, the spring 97, which is more powerful than the spring 84, will hold the gate closed. When the roller 88 rides up on one of the cams 87, the arm 90 is rocked counterclockwise, as viewed in FIG. 3, causing the arm 92 also to move counterclockwise. This causes arm 95 to move clockwise on shaft 77 against the resistance of spring 97, and, when the arm has moved far enough, the shaft 77 will be rotated in a clockwise direction against the resistance of spring 84 to lift gate 82 upwardly, opening the delivery slot 75 in the drum 40. The cams 87 are preferably made long enough so that four pockets 30 will rotate past the open discharge port 75 while the gate is open. Thus, each time the gate is open a plurality of buttons may be discharged from the hopper.

Secured to a collar 99 (FIG. that is fastened by a setscrew or the like to the shaft 77, is a right angular shaped feeler finger 98. The free end of the finger 98 passes through registering openings and 101 in the plates 78 and '79 and through the guide passage 74 in the plate 72 and is adapted to engage against an adjustable knurl-headed stop 194 that threads into the plate 72.

If an operator leaves the sewing machine, with which this orienter is being used, unattended, buttons, of course, will pile up, in the chute-magazine 70, because the machine is not being operated and because therefore no buttons are being transferred from the chute to the chuck of the machine to be sewed onto garments. This is where the finger 98 and the stop 104 come into use as a safety device to prevent jamming the chute-magazine or the hopper. Each time that the roller 88 rides onto a cam 87, the feeler finger 98 will be rocked counterclockwise. If there is no button between the feeler finger and the stop 104, the finger will rock as far as stop 104 permits it, as seen in FIG. 5. When the buttons back up far enough in the chute-magazine and in passageway 74, however, for a button to become positioned in the passageway 74, the free end of the finger 98 will engage this button, and the shaft 77 will be prevented from being moved by cams 87 through a distance sufficient to open the gate. The button which is engaged by the finger 98, acts as a stop or abutment; and even though the disc 27 continues to rotate, the earns 87 will not rock shaft 77 through the spring 97 far enough to cause the gate to be opened. The spring 97 will merely wind up without rocking the shaft sufliciently to open the gate. Each time that follower 88 rides up on a cam 87, the shaft will rock slightly in gate-opening direction; but as long as there is a button between the finger and the stop 104, the gate will be prevented from opening sufiiciently to allow a button to be discharged from the hopper into passageway 74. It will not be until a sufficient number of buttons has been removed from chute-magazine 70 for the passageway 74 to be clear again, before finger 98 can return to the position shown in FIG. 5, and the gate can resume its normal alternate opening and closing operations under control of disc 27 and cams 87. The button, which has interfered with the opening of the gate will, of course, slide from the passageway 74 into the chute-magazine 76 as soon as there is space for it in the chute-magazine because the slight rocking of shaft 77 and feeler 98, frees the button slightly each time the follower 88 rides up on a cam 87; and when there is space for the button in the chute-magazine it simply slides from the passageway 74 into the chute-magazine.

In the use of the apparatus illustrated, a plurality of buttons are first loaded into the hopper. Due to the 45 inclination of the disc 27, these buttons will settle in the lower part of the hopper. When the motor 16 is started, the loading disc 27 rotates as well as the agitators 34 and and the nest pins 31. The agitators 34 keep the buttons stirred up and the agitator 25, gravity, and centrifugal force combine to carry the buttons to the wall of the hopper where they are picked up in the recesses 30. A button having the desired orientation, that is, having its spherical concavity down, will be carried upwardly on a nesting pin 31 as the disc 27 revolves and will pass under the sweep without touching the sweep 55, and will enter the discharge chamber 67. An incorrectly oriented button, which has its side 46 on top of a pin 31, will either slide off the pin as the disc 27 revolves, or will be kicked off the pin by the sweep 55 back into the mass of buttons in the lower side of the hopper, to be picked up again by another nest pin 31.

So long as buttons have not backed up in passageway 74 far enough for a button to be engaged by feeler finger 98 as it swings up through aligned openings 100 and 101, as the disc 27 revolves, the gate will alternately be opened, as roller 88 rides up on successive earns 87, and be closed, as the roller rides on the bottom of the disc in the spaces between the cams. The correctly oriented buttons, which are carried into the chamber 67, will be discharged by action of deflector 68, gravity and centrifugal force out of the port 75 in wall 40 when the gate 80 is open, and will be delivered through passageway 74 into chute-magazine 70. If the buttons back up in the chute-magazine into passageway 74 until a button is between finger 98 and stop 104, the gate will be prevented from opening as previously described, and will be prevented from opening so long as a button is interposed between the finger and the stop 104.

It will thus be seen that We have provided an improved type of hopper-orienter with a simple, inexpensive safety device for preventing jamming in case an operator inadvertently leaves the orienter running While the sewing machine itself, and the transfer mechanism, which is actuated in time therewith for transferring buttons from the button-delivery chute to the button clutch of the machine, is left standing idle.

As previously stated the orienter of this invention is not restricted to use with buttons of the type shown but can with suitable modification be used for orienting and delivering other types of buttons and in fact other types of articles such as spring lock washers, tubular rivets, etc. Obviously whether used for orienting buttons or other articles, the orienter may be used on a machine on which the articles are to be Worked or in which the articles are to be used, and the gate will stop delivery of the articles fnom the orienter to the machine, whatever its type, if the orienter is left running while the machine is idle, or if the articles are being supplied to the machine faster than the machine can use them.

While the invention has been described, then, in connection with one embodiment thereof and one use therefor, it -'will be understood that the invention is capable of further modification, and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the ant to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth, and as fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is:

l. The combination with a conduit, of a hopper for holding articles and having a discharge port therein through which articles may pass from said hopper into said conduit, feeding means movably mounted in said hopper and movable therein to feed the articles in said hopper toward said port, means for actuating said feeding means, a movable gate for closing said port, spring means constantly urging said gate to closed position, means operatively connected to said feeding means for periodically opening said gate against the resistance of said spring means, and means operatively connected to said gate and positioned to engage an article in said conduit, when said conduit is filled with the articles to a predetermined point, to positively prevent said gate from being opened.

2. The combination with a conduit, of a hopper for holding a plurality of articles, said hopper comprising a fixed Wall member, and a disc rotatable therein, said disc having a plurality of pockets in its upper face to pick up articles from the hopper as said ldisc rotates, said wall member having a port therethnough through which anticles may pass from said pockets into said conduit, a movable gate for closing said port, -a plurality of cams secured on the lower face of said disc for periodically opening said gate as said disc rotates, and means connected to said cams periodically to sense the extent to which the conduit is filled with the articles, said sensing means being operative, when the conduit is filled to a predetermined point with the articles, to prevent said gate from being opened until the articles in the conduit no longer reach said predetermined point.

3. The combination with a conduit, of a hopper for holding a plurality of articles, said hopper comprising -a fixed wall member, and a disc rotatable therein, said disc having a plurality of pockets in it to pick up articles from the hopper as said disc rotates, said wall member having a port thercthrough through which articles may pass from said pockets into said conduit, a movable gate for closing said port, spring means for constantly urging said gate to closed position, a cam on said disc operatively connected to said gate to open said gate against the resistance of said spring as said disc rotates, and a finger operatively connected to said gate to sense the position of articles in said conduit each time the gate is opened and closed, said finger being so disposed that when an article in said conduit is in position to be engaged by said finger said gate will be prevented from being opened despite said cam.

4. The combination with a conduit, of a hopper for holding -a plurality of articles, said hopper comprising a fixed wall member, and a disc rotatable therein, said disc having a plurality of pockets in it to pick up articles from the hopper as said 'disc rotates, said wall member having a port therethrough through which articles may pass from said pockets into said conduit, a movable gate for closing said port, rneans operatively connected in said disc for opening said gate periodically as said disc rotates, and means for preventing opening of said gate when said conduit is filled to a predetermined point with the articles.

5. The combination with a conduit, of a 'hopper for holding a plurality of articles, said hopper comprising a fixed wall member, and a disc rotatable therein, said disc having a plurality of pockets in it to pick up articles from the hopper as said disc rotates, said wall member having a port therethrough through which articles may pass from said pockets into said conduit, a movable gate for closing said port, means operatively connecting said gate to said disc for opening said gate periodically as said disc rotates, and means for periodically sensing said conduit as said disc rotates, said sensing means being operatively connected to said gate to prevent said gate from being opened when said conduit is filled to a predetermined point with the articles.

6. The combination 'with a conduit, or" a hopper for holding a plurality of articles, said hopper comprising a fined wall member, and a disc rotatable therein, said disc having a plurality of pockets in it to pick up articles from the hopper as said disc rotates, said wall member having a port therethrough through which articles may pass from said pockets into said conduit, a movable gate for closing said port, an oscillatory shaft to which said gate is secured, a plurality of angularly-sp'aced cams secured to said disc, a follower positioned to engage said cams successvely as said disc rotates, a spring for holding said follower in cam-engaging position, means including said spring for rocking said shaft in a direction to [open said gate when said follower rides up onto each or" said cams, a second spring connected to said shafit to urge said shafit in a direction to close said gate, said second spring being weaker than said first spring but being adapted to close said gate when said follower is down off said earns, a feeler secured to said shafit and positioned to enter said conduit each [time that said follower rides on a cam, said feeler being positioned so that when said conduit is filled to a predetermined point with the [articles it will engage one of said articles and prevent said gate from closing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,276,382 Francis Mar. 17, 1942 2,341,014 Blair Feb. 8, 1944 2,612,796 Bastian et al. Oct. 7, 1952 2,680,298 Obenshain June 8, 1954 2,935,226 Hanson May 3, 1960 

1. THE COMBINATION WITH A CONDUIT, OF A HOPPER FOR HOLDING ARTICLES AND HAVING A DISCHARGE PORT THEREIN THROUGH WHICH ARTICLES MAY PASS FROM SAID HOPPER INTO SAID CONDUIT, FEEDING MEANS MOVABLY MOUNTED IN SAID HOPPER AND MOVABLE THEREIN TO FEED THE ARTICLES IN SAID HOPPER TOWARD SAID PORT, MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID FEED ING MEANS, A MOVABLE GATE FOR CLOSING SAID PORT, SPRING MEANS CONSTANTLY URGING SAID GATE TO CLOSED POSITION, MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID FEEDING MEANS FOR PERIDICALLY OPENING SAID GATE AGAINST THE RESISTANCE OF SAID SPRING MEANS, AND MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID GATE AND POSITIONED TO ENGAGE AN ARTICLE IN SAID CONDUIT, WHEN SAID CONDUIT IS FILLED WITH THE ARTICLES TO A PREDETERMINED POINT, TO POSITIVELY PREVENT SAID GATE FROM BEING OPENED. 